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Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams

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Birth	:	27 Nov 1836 Hancock County, Illinois, USA
Death	:	22 Oct 1929 Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado, USA
Burial	:	New Marshfield Cemetery, New Marshfield, Athens County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.3244019, -82.2114029
Inscription	:	Co.K. 12 Ill.Inf.
Description	:	Benjamin was born and raised in Hancock County, Illinois, where he worked as a farmer. He was married there to Ruth (Miller) Daniels on 2 Apr 1857. They had four children: Margaret Leticia (Williams) McMinimy, 1858-1921, usually called "Leticia" Marietta (Williams) Howell, 1860-1948, later called "Mary Etta" Seth Ellsworth, 1863-1957 Winnie May (Williams) Spaulding, b. 1867-1941 Benjamin registered for the draft in 1863, and on 6 Apr 1865, he enlisted in Quincy, Illinois, serving as a private in Company K of the 12th Illinois Infantry. He was mustered out on 8 Nov 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky. After his last child, however,... Read More	Benjamin was born and raised in Hancock County, Illinois, where he worked as a farmer. He was married there to Ruth (Miller) Daniels on 2 Apr 1857. They had four children: Margaret Leticia (Williams) McMinimy, 1858-1921, usually called "Leticia" Marietta (Williams) Howell, 1860-1948, later called "Mary Etta" Seth Ellsworth, 1863-1957 Winnie May (Williams) Spaulding, b. 1867-1941 Benjamin registered for the draft in 1863, and on 6 Apr 1865, he enlisted in Quincy, Illinois, serving as a private in Company K of the 12th Illinois Infantry. He was mustered out on 8 Nov 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky. After his last child, however, he and evidently Ruth divorced, because in the 1870 census she is registered alone with the children. On 8 July 1873, Benjamin married Fannie Belle Campbell (FAG 29822618). She was born in New York, 22 Jan 1823. They lived in Fountain Green, Hancock, Illinois, but sometime after 1880 they moved to Kirksville, Adair County, Missouri, where Benjamin served as a minister. Violette's History of Adair County (1911) mentions a Methodist Episcopal minister named Williams who served in the Kirksville area near that time. Fannie died there on 23 Jan 1889 of consumption, and was taken back to Fountain Green, Illinois, for burial. The Kirksville Journal for Thursday, January 24, 1889, says: "Mrs. Fannie Williams, wife of Rev. Benj. Williams, died at their family residence, in this place, yesterday morning of tubercular consumption. Her remains were taken this morning via Quincy, Illinois, to her former home near Carthage, Ill." Soon after the death of Fannie, Benjamin left Missouri and traveled to St. Francis, in the far northwest of Kansas, where he met Dr. Mary Williams. They were married there on 3 July 1890 and a year later had a son, Carl Decker Williams. Early in 1895, however, they separated. Mary and their son Carl moved to Michigan, where Mary lived with her mother while working as a doctor, and Benjamin moved back to Kirksville, Missouri, where according to the 1900 census he worked as a minister. But he and Mary were reconciled, and the 1908-09 Kirksville directory shows that they and their son Carl were living together at 508 S. Ely. Benjamin is listed as a clergyman, and Carl as a student, but Mary's profession is not mentioned. The 1910 census is similar, except that Carl is listed as a laborer, although afterwards he joined the army for four years. There is no record in Kirksville of Mary working there as a physician, so Benjamin was evidently the sole provider. But Benjamin was also getting old. In 1914, when William was 77, the family moved to Yuma County, Colorado. On October 2, 1914, Benjamin applied for residence in the Homelake Veterans' Home in Monte Vista, Colorado. He was admitted a year later, on November 1, 1915, shortly before he turned 79. His son Carl remained in Otis, in Yuma County, and where he married in 1917. Benjamin's wife Mary moved back to St. Francis, Kansas, where her daughter and family lived. In 1919 Mary applied for a place in the small women's cottage at Homelake Home, so she could care for Benjamin, but approval was not granted at that time. Benjamin decided to move to the Sawtelle Home in Los Angeles County. This put him near his daughter Leticia McMinimy, whose husband Felix had been a resident in the Sawtelle Home in 1917. So on December 8, 1920, Benjamin was discharged from Homelake at his own request and moved to the veteran's home in Sawtelle. His daughter Winnie May and her family moved to Sawtelle around the same time, so they probably went together. Benjamin left the Sawtelle home after three months, and on March 3, 1921 he was readmitted to the Homelake home in Colorado. At that time his son Carl and his family were still living in Otis, Yuma County, Colorado, but sometime afterwards they moved to Artesia in Los Angeles County. On Nov. 4, 1923, Benjamin was discharged at his own request to go to Patterson, Iowa, where his daughter Mary Etta Howell lived. He had planned to come back to Homelake, but he wrote to its commander saying his daughter was going to visit her sister (Winnie May) in Sawtelle, and he was going to go with her and enter the soldiers home there (again). So he was readmitted to the Sawtelle home on Dec. 24, 1923. Having seen his various children, he returned to Homelake and was readmitted on July 9, 1924. The home then approved the application by his wife Mary, and she was admitted to the Home on September 10, 1924. In July, 1925, at the request of Homelake, Benjamin was legally ruled to be mentally incompetent, and his affairs were put under the conservatorship of a Mr. A. W. Cornell in Monte Vista. Benjamin's wife Mary continued at the home and presumably helped care for Benjamin. In January, 1926, her widowed daughter Lora died in St. Francis, Kansas, age 55. In 1927 Mary took a furlough to visit her friends in St Francis and in Yuma County. On August 11, 1927, while with friends in Yuma County after visiting St Francis, she took ill and died, just a few days short of her 80th birthday. Benjamin continued living at Homelake until March 21, 1929, when he was taken ill to Woodcroft Hospital, Pueblo, Colorado , where he died the next day. He was 92. Surprisingly, even though he had been out of circulation for several years, notice of his death made the front page in the local newspaper: *Obituary from the front page of the Monte Vista Tribune, October 24, 1929:* Well known Veteran Dies at Hospital in Pueblo on Tuesday Benjamin F. Williams, a member of the Colorado Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Homelake for many years, died at Woodcraft Hospital in Pueblo Tuesday. Williams was well known here because he had held many religious services on the streets of Monte Vista. Williams lived at the Soldiers' Home until March 21 of this year when he was taken to Pueblo. He saw service in the Civil War as a member of Co. K, 12th Illinois Infantry. He is survived by one son, Carl D. Williams, of Artesia, California.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams's memorial?
Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams's memorial is located at: New Marshfield Cemetery, New Marshfield, Athens County, USA.
When did Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams death?
Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams death on 22 Oct 1929 in Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Rev Benjamin Franklin Williams's memorial?
Latitude: 39.3244019
Longitude: -82.2114029

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Mary E. Peters Williams

(1847 - 1927)

Siblings

(unknow - unknow)

Children

Mary Etta Williams Howell

(1860 - 1948)

Seth E Williams

(1862 - 1957)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. New Marshfield Cemetery
New Marshfield, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3244019, -82.2114029

2. Ross Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3116989, -82.1964035

3. Holmes Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3161011, -82.1892014

4. Hoot Owl Hollow Cemetery
Athens, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3454630, -82.2116320

5. Pierce Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3218994, -82.1836014

6. Factory Cemetery
Luhrig, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3382988, -82.1866989

7. Quail Trap Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2983017, -82.2217026

8. Lowry Cemetery
Waterloo Township, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3409124, -82.2417134

9. Haines Cemetery
Athens, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3335991, -82.1671982

10. Hewitt Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3488998, -82.2453003

11. Littler Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3163986, -82.1643982

12. Union Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3171997, -82.1639023

13. Stover Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3636017, -82.1988983

14. Hewett Cemetery
Mineral, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3255997, -82.2641983

15. Salem Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3563995, -82.1781006

16. Howson Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3227997, -82.2667007

17. Brooks Cemetery
Waterloo Township, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3555984, -82.2502975

18. Carter Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3732986, -82.2074966

19. Gilham Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3017900, -82.1529500

20. Judd Cemetery
Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3396988, -82.2817001

21. Clark Cemetery
Vinton County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2903000, -82.2702700

22. Brooks Cemetery
Vinton County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2921982, -82.2769012

23. Athens County Memory Gardens
Athens, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2764015, -82.1594009

24. Zion Cemetery
The Plains, Athens County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3507996, -82.1358032